Chapter 1
"Coaxed"
By: Summer Dopamine
January 20, 2024 (Major Cold)
---
Ovid said that a deceiver will always pretend to love sincerely at first, only to reveal their true nature in the end.
But what if, at the very end, the true nature exposed is that you have clearly fallen for them? What then?
Should you use a knife to scrape away this ill-timed emotion, letting the wound heal in secret, or take that step forward, even if it means burning this heart to ashes and scattering them in the sunlight?
Gu Li'an, which one would you choose?
— Yun Daixi's Diary
"Gotta go, the tyrant suddenly showed up. Bye."
On the other end, Jessica suddenly lowered her voice to convey the situation and hung up before Yun Daixi could respond.
A faint smile flickered at the corner of Yun Daixi's mouth but vanished instantly.
Jessica's Chinese name is Li Jiahua, the Marketing and Public Relations Director for the high-end custom jewelry brand Mercury.
Mercury Jewelry isn't a foreign company; it's 100% domestically owned. The executives are simply Chinese with overseas work and life experience, but it has become a habit for everyone to use English names.
This somewhat meaningless code offers a sense of security from a clear boundary between life and work.
This call was initiated by Yun Daixi.
She had intended to use the opportunity of her top actress Jiang Xianxian attending Mercury's annual gala to seek another chance for her company's second-tier actress, Lin Suihuan.
She had just confirmed Jiang Xianxian's schedule and mentioned Lin Suihuan when the call was cut off.
In the ruthless entertainment industry, without status, you naturally don't get an invitation. Regardless of whether the tyrant's reason for appearing was real or not, she had to accept it.
After all, the other side was the "daddy client."
After hanging up, she called her assistant in and instructed, "Go investigate if any major figures have recently arrived at Mercury."
After all, this person's presence was so imposing that even the usually steady Jessica sounded flustered.
Assistant Wang accepted the task and left. As he opened the door, he ran into Jiang Xianxian.
She pushed the door open naturally and sat on the sofa opposite.
With no schedule today, she had applied light makeup at home before heading out. She wore a black tight-fitting tank top and wide-leg jeans, casually removing her black mask. Her well-defined features paired with fair skin created a stark, high-end beauty, like a black-and-white photograph deliberately toned by a photographer.
In the industry, Jiang Xianxian was the only one who could be described as "stunningly beautiful" even without heavy makeup.
Over the years, with Yun Daixi's active promotion, Jiang Xianxian had landed many luxury endorsements. Yun Daixi herself, leveraging this ace, had gained increasing seniority and accumulated numerous connections.
Yun Daixi took a sip of coffee, her tone joking. "What brings the great beauty Jiang to my office today?"
Jiang Xianxian stood up, walked to the window, opened it, took a cigarette from her bag, lit it, inhaled, and exhaled the smoke. "I need your help with something."
A bad premonition dawned on Yun Daixi. Jiang Xianxian had always been unrestrained; in her dealings, the words "need your help" were rare.
"Don't tell me you secretly sold the company's shares behind my back?"
Yun Daixi was a businesswoman; money naturally came to mind first.
Jiang Xianxian smiled, recognizing the joking tone in Yun Daixi's words, and said nothing more.
She finished the entire cigarette, found a paper cup with some water, extinguished the butt, then returned to the sofa for her bag and pulled out a pregnancy test.
She glanced at it herself first, then handed it to Yun Daixi.
Taking it, Yun Daixi saw two clear lines.
The pillar of the company being pregnant was like pulling the rug out from under a shorted stock—utterly destabilizing.
Yun Daixi put the test down and looked straight into her eyes. "Whose is it?"
Jiang Xianxian answered, "Someone from the Fang family."
Yun Daixi confirmed again, "The old master or the young master?"
Jiang Xianxian avoided her gaze, looking away. "The young master."
Yun Daixi roughly guessed. The Fang family had ill intentions toward Jiang Xianxian. After the last banquet ended, while Yun Daixi was handling another matter, Jiang Xianxian had been whisked away by the Fang family in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Xianxian had long considered attaching herself to a wealthy businessman's heir and retiring from the industry. The Fang family, with its vast wealth, was a good choice.
Of course, "good" referred to the old master. That young master was still a seedling, utterly unreliable.
But even if it were the old master, now wasn't the right time. The Fang family's primary wife would never allow her into the family. Regardless of the baby's gender, it would mean a share of the pie for her.
It was destined that this child would not see the light of day.
Seeing Jiang Xianxian calmly pull out a second cigarette to light, Yun Daixi figured she had already decided the child's fate.
After all, she had fought tooth and nail these past years to finally break into the ranks of A-list leading ladies.
Yun Daixi stood up, took the cigarette from her hand, and stubbed it out. "Any pregnancy symptoms? Can you continue with the recent appearances and shoots?"
Jiang Xianxian looked at the prematurely extinguished cigarette and reached for another from the pack, but Yun Daixi pressed her hand down, forcing her to give up. "No symptoms. I only tested because my period was a month late."
"That's good. The schedule these days isn't packed anyway; shooting a few magazines isn't too physically demanding. You must attend next week's Mercury gala. After that, I'll arrange for the hospital," Yun Daixi said, opening her computer to check Jiang Xianxian's schedule while planning the next steps.
"Daisy, would you still have this calm expression if the sky were falling?"
Jiang Xianxian was instead unsettled by this composed reaction, unsure if Yun Daixi was planning to abandon her.
She had climbed from supporting roles to her current position over the years, enduring many hardships. After reaching the summit, she could no longer stomach the days of living at the foot of the mountain.
Not just the foot; even stepping back halfway down the mountain, she would immediately feel the hierarchical differences in human relationships at various events.
Seeing Yun Daixi hadn't replied, she took a step forward, leaning her hands on the desk, her body tilting closer. "I heard you mention Lin Suihuan's name on the phone earlier."
In this industry, when old faces leave, new ones arrive. No one is irreplaceable.
People here are like fresh flowers, with an extremely short shelf life. Insecurity is naturally amplified infinitely.
Yun Daixi shifted her eyes from the computer screen to Jiang Xianxian's stunning face. "You're overthinking it. I wouldn't go that far. What you can bring is definitely greater. Besides, I share some responsibility for this. I failed to protect you that day."
Jiang Xianxian had indeed long intended to attach herself to the Fang family, selling herself for a good price while she still had some captivating charm left.
Although Yun Daixi had warned her many times, at the critical moment, she hadn't noticed and intervened in time.
Hearing her mention "responsibility," Jiang Xianxian relaxed, straightening up and stepping back. "Thank you, Daisy."
With that, she pushed the door and left.
In fact, they were the same age, born in the same year, with Yun Daixi only a few months older.
Yet their styles were completely different. Yun Daixi's steadiness and shrewdness had earned her a place in the agency business before turning thirty.
All this growth was thanks to her having no way out.
Even if it meant a mountain of knives or a sea of fire ahead, she had to grit her teeth and cross it.
---
Fortunately, the shoots in the following days went smoothly. Over the weekend, she texted Jiang Xianxian: Pillar of the company, you better hold steady for me until after next week's Mercury gala. Otherwise, not only will you lose your ambassador status, but you'll also have to pay thirty million in compensation.
Jiang Xianxian replied: Daisy, you're really obsessed with money.
Of course, without capital, you can't play in this circle. Moreover, with today's speed of public opinion spread, everything feels like walking on a knife's edge—one misstep and it's all over.
This game is high risk, high reward.
That's why Yun Daixi couldn't stand those news stories promoting how hard their artists worked. Many other professions were far more demanding.
They were all beneficiaries; they shouldn't try to have it both ways.
---
The next morning, Yun Daixi went to Mercury's headquarters as scheduled to sign the annual cooperation agreement.
Her assistant's investigation into that "tyrant" hadn't yielded much substantive information. They only knew his name was Gu Li'an, that he had recently returned from abroad, and that Mercury was just a tiny part of his business empire.
Those who had seen him in person were few and far between; his appearance and age were mysteries. Even the forces and capital behind him weren't openly discussed.
There were plenty of gossipy rumors about him, though. They said he was cunning and deep, ruthless enough to target his own father to gain real control—the old man was still lying in the hospital, kept alive by machines.
Others said he was an anomaly.
He didn't drink a drop of alcohol, didn't let women get close, yet still thrived in the decadent financial circles.
In several recent M&A deals, he hadn't even shown his face. Through a few maneuvers, he made the other parties tear into each other, allowing his own company to profit as the third beneficiary, snatching bargains at extremely low prices.
However, after all these years in the industry, she had heard too many true and false messages. Even eyewitness accounts weren't necessarily reliable, let alone these multi-hand rumors.
Naturally, Yun Daixi didn't take all this at face value, nor did she dismiss it entirely. In different situations, she only chose to believe the parts that could bring her tangible benefits.
Exiting the elevator lobby on the 35th floor, Jessica's assistant, seeing it was Yun Daixi, first ushered her to a nearby tea room. She explained that Jessica had been suddenly called away to a meeting with an extremely important person. However, based on his usual habits, it definitely wouldn't take long.
Before leaving, Jessica specifically instructed her assistant to convey: So sorry, please ask her to wait for a bit.
Yun Daixi smiled and said it was no problem, already having a good guess about who had urgently summoned her today.
She double-checked with her assistant that the printed materials for Lin Suihuan were correct and reviewed them herself several times.
She still wanted to bring up the matter interrupted during the last call and fight for it openly today.
Not wanting to use worthless connections as bargaining chips, she had added an extra offline event to Jiang Xianxian's contract this time, intended as an exchange for Lin Suihuan's entry ticket into the fashion circle.
Originally, arranging Lin Suihuan's entry was just a possible bonus, but now, with Jiang Xianxian pulling this stunt, Lin Suihuan was the most presentable card Yun Daixi had left.
Given the circumstances, this backup plan had become necessary.
Jessica returned soon enough, personally opening the door to invite Yun Daixi to the conference room. Her smile seemed somewhat stiff, perhaps because of that "tyrant."
Following Jessica to the large conference room, representatives from Mercury's relevant marketing, PR, and legal departments were already present. Yun Daixi greeted everyone. "Sorry for the delay. There was an urgent matter earlier; I was called over by President Gu. The contracts have been distributed in advance. Let's discuss any issues directly."
During the signing process, not wanting to put Jessica in a difficult position privately, Yun Daixi directly proposed the exchange of Jiang Xianxian's schedule for Lin Suihuan's entry opportunity as part of the meeting agenda.
After several rounds of discussion, they said that although Lin Suihuan had good acting skills and potential, her public image didn't quite align with luxury jewelry. They needed to consider further; the exchange was temporarily tabled.
Not wanting to lose the big for the small, Yun Daixi said no more, simply finalizing and signing the necessary parts to secure what was already in the bag.
After the signing, Yun Daixi's group went to the elevator lobby to wait. Jessica also came along to see them off.
Yun Daixi tried once more privately. "If it doesn't work for this gala, maybe we can consider the smaller banquet next month..."
Before she could finish, the elevator in front of them suddenly opened.
With a ding, everyone looked up, startled.
Jessica's expression changed instantly. Her throat seemed choked as she strained to utter, "President Gu..."
Yun Daixi looked up. Inside the elevator, the person surrounded in the center wore all black—a black suit, black trousers, black shirt, made of low-key, matte fabric.
Compared to the tall, burly bodyguards in black suits beside him, he had a natural nobility. The same black color, worn by him, created a world of difference.
His skin was extremely pale, almost sickly so.
The eyes beneath his brows held a misty, elusive sense of distance, like looking through ice at the unfrozen water below—a fear born of the unknown abyss, making one dare not approach.
Yun Daixi didn't realize she was being incredibly impolite, her eyes scrutinizing him from head to toe.
Before he could speak, an elder beside him instructed, "Next time we come, lock this elevator. Going down floor by floor like this breaks protocol."
The man nodded and bowed. "Yes, yes. We didn't consider that properly."
The elevator doors closed.
Yun Daixi casually pointed in the direction of the elevator, deliberately using a light tone. "And that was?"
The bowing man she had certainly met before—Mercury's CEO, Mike, Jessica's boss.
Her question was about the legendary President Gu.
Jessica finally regained some composure, letting out a long sigh, summarizing in two simple words: "The tyrant."
Before Yun Daixi could ask the next question, another elevator arrived. Jessica clearly didn't want to say more, ushering them into the elevator and waving goodbye.